108 TRANSACTIONS OF STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Suitable Land. — In Southern California alfalfa will do fairly well on 

 almost any land suitable for grain growing or orchard purposes where 

 water can be secured in abundance for irrigation. And as a rule every 

 farmer and orchardist who has such land will find it to his interests to 

 grow a sufficiency for his teams and a cow or two. But it should be 

 understood that there is a great difference in the adaptability of land, 

 even in the same neighborhood, to alfalfa-growing. And one who has 

 chosen this industry as a prominent branch of his business should care- 

 fully select his location, as success or failure may hinge on the choice 

 made. A porous subsoil which will take water freely can scarcely fail 

 to give large crops if properly irrigated. There is ample fertility in 

 almost any of our mesa lands to produce well if the roots can freely 

 penetrate the subsoil. But there are tracts of land with fine surface soil 

 which cannot be made to produce heavy crops, simply because neither 

 the water nor the roots can penetrate the underlying hardpan or tough 

 clay subsoil. I have had some unpleasant experience in this direction, 

 against which I would guard the inexperienced. In selecting land for 

 this purpose one should not take surface appearances. He should dig 

 down and find out what is under the surface, else he may be deceived. 



Preparing the Land. — Burn or remove all weeds and rubbish before 

 plowing. If there are small mounds or hillocks which need to be 

 removed with the scraper, it is much easier to do it before plowing the 

 whole surface, as the low places, where the dirt should be dumped, may 

 then be readily seen. And whatever leveling is needed should be done 

 with reference to the location of the irrigating ditches. It is very 

 important that the general lay of the land be accurately ascertained, 

 either by a competent engineer or by the actual running of water. 



After the ground has been leveled as thoroughly as possible with the 

 scraper, it should be well plowed and the surface carefully pulverized. 

 All dead furrows should be filled and some suitable instrument used to 

 make the surface level and smooth. A piece of square timber, twenty- 

 five or thirty feet long, weighted down so as to make a load for two 

 teams, one hitched at each end, and drawing it sidewise over the land, 

 will level the surface as well or better than any other contrivance I have 

 seen at work. And, as this is done rapidly, it is well to go over the 

 land two or three times, changing the direction each time. This will 

 put the ground in fine shape for irrigating, if the general level has been 

 secured, and it will somewhat pack the loose ground and thus prevent 

 the young alfalfa plants from drying out if the north wind should blow, 

 and enable the roots more readily to fasten in the soil. 



Laying Off for Irrigation. — For convenience and economy in irrigat- 

 ing, a ten-acre lot should be divided into three or four equal blocks. I 

 have had considerable experience with five-acre blocks (twenty by forty 



